---
title: How Not to Panic During Your Freshman Year of College
description: Harlan Cohen, author of a book on adjusting to college, shares his advice.
authors:
  - name: tomvollkommer
    url: https://money.com/author/tomvollkommer/
    at_money_since: 2015
    articles: 18
    covers:
      - Education
      - Business
      - Career Advice
      - Housing
      - Insurance
      - Investing
      - Lifestyle
      - Loans
      - Retirement
    former_staff: true
published: '2015-12-17T20:34:09.000Z'
modified: '2015-12-17T20:34:09.000Z'
section: Education
tags:
  - College
  - Money
  - School
  - Transitioning
  - video
word_count: 113
canonical: https://money.com/panic-freshman-college-transition/
type: Article
source: structured-blocks
---

> **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/).

![Screen Shot 2015-12-17 at 10.02.45 AM](https://img.money.com/2015/12/screen-shot-2015-12-17-at-10-02-45-am.png)

Transitioning from high school to college isn't an easy process. Harlan Cohen, author of [a book about how to adjust to college life](http://www.harlancohen.com/books/), has some advice..

Don't rush. It can take time to get into the swing of things. "It can take a good semester...a good year," says Cohen.

While in school, it's important to take advantage of all available resources. You can reach out to advisers, teachers, or other people who will be more than willing to help you.

You should join groups, or teams of people that share similar interests. This will expedite the friend-making process.

It's up to you to make the most out of your college experience. Remain calm.

```json
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@graph": [
    {
      "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
      "@id": "https://money.com/panic-freshman-college-transition/#breadcrumb",
      "itemListElement": [
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 1,
          "name": "Home",
          "item": "https://money.com"
        },
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 2,
          "name": "Education",
          "item": "https://money.com/education/"
        },
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 3,
          "name": "Preparing for College",
          "item": "https://money.com/preparing-for-college/"
        },
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 4,
          "name": "How Not to Panic During Your Freshman Year of College"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "@type": "WebSite",
      "@id": "https://money.com/#website",
      "url": "https://money.com",
      "name": "Money",
      "publisher": {
        "@id": "https://money.com/#organization"
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "WebPage",
      "@id": "https://money.com/panic-freshman-college-transition/#webpage",
      "url": "https://money.com/panic-freshman-college-transition/",
      "name": "How Not to Panic During Your Freshman Year of College",
      "isPartOf": {
        "@id": "https://money.com/#website"
      },
      "datePublished": "2015-12-17T20:34:09.000Z",
      "mainEntity": {
        "@id": "https://money.com/panic-freshman-college-transition/"
      },
      "inLanguage": "en-US",
      "breadcrumb": {
        "@id": "https://money.com/panic-freshman-college-transition/#breadcrumb"
      },
      "dateModified": "2015-12-17T20:34:09.000Z"
    },
    {
      "@type": "Article",
      "headline": "How Not to Panic During Your Freshman Year of College",
      "articleSection": "Education",
      "image": [
        {
          "@type": "ImageObject",
          "url": "https://img.money.com/2015/12/screen-shot-2015-12-17-at-10-02-45-am.png",
          "width": 1623,
          "height": 909,
          "caption": "Screen Shot 2015-12-17 at 10.02.45 AM"
        }
      ],
      "author": [
        {
          "@type": "Person",
          "name": "tomvollkommer",
          "url": "https://money.com/author/tomvollkommer/",
          "@id": "https://money.com/author/tomvollkommer/#author"
        }
      ],
      "publisher": "https://money.com/#organization",
      "datePublished": "2015-12-17T20:34:09.000Z",
      "description": "Harlan Cohen, author of a book on adjusting to college, shares his advice.",
      "abstract": "Harlan Cohen, author of a book on adjusting to college, shares his advice.",
      "@id": "https://money.com/panic-freshman-college-transition/",
      "inLanguage": "en-US",
      "dateModified": "2015-12-17T20:34:09.000Z",
      "wordCount": 113,
      "keywords": [
        "College",
        "Money",
        "School",
        "Transitioning",
        "video"
      ],
      "about": [
        {
          "@type": "Thing",
          "name": "Education",
          "sameAs": [
            "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education"
          ]
        },
        {
          "@type": "Thing",
          "name": "College admissions in the United States",
          "sameAs": [
            "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_admissions_in_the_United_States"
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}
```